2024-01-11 10:24:56 ¶ ●

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Hi there I need your help understanding something in the first season why Hannibal framed Will if he was already in love ? He wasn’t that confident about Will not getting death penalty right ?

Hannibal is the devil; he doesn’t subscribe to ordinary human emotions. Whether or not Hannibal loves Will depends on your definition of love. Personally, I see his initial interest in Will as indulgence. He will probably eat him, but first, he wants to play with his food. And the fact that he wants to play with him is an honour in Hannibal’s mind.

Sending Will to prison was an action meant to strip Will off his power and control, because he wanted to see what Will would do when he was cornered. At this point, I’d call it scientific curiosity. He saw a creature he never saw before and wanted to know how it truly ticked. But I think he hoped Will would kill, so that there was a possibility that they could eventually be equals and become friends. And Will tries to kill him, which I imagine made Hannibal very excited.

As for the death penalty, he did interfere with the trial by killing the judge. I think this is because Hannibal would like to control even how Will dies. He’s like a fat spider and all the characters are the small insects caught up in his web waiting to be eaten when he sees it fit.

edit to add: I think the more he interacted with Will, the more he liked him. In s1e7 “Sorbet”, he is tentative about the idea of befriending Will. He seems to be considering just how “alone” he is, you know, being who he is, he can’t just reveal himself to anyone and hope they understand. I think his gears shifted gradually as time passed by in Will’s company until he reached the point of surrendering himself to have Will’s continued attention.